Bridges

*110 This California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) 1 case arises from a community college's decision to buy a plot of vacant land from *111 a regional park district for potential future use as the site of a new campus. Plaintiffs and appellants Martha Bridges and John Burkett (appellants) are residents of Wildomar, the city where the land is located. They sued respondent Mt. San Jacinto Community College District (the community college, or the college) alleging it violated CEQA by failing to prepare an environmental impact report (EIR) before executing a purchase agreement for the property. Appellants also allege the community college violated CEQA by failing to adopt local CEQA implementing guidelines.

The trial court denied appellants' CEQA petition in its entirety, and we affirm. As we explain, appellants did not exhaust their administrative remedies before filing this suit and have not demonstrated they were excused from doing so. And, even if the exhaustion doctrine did not bar appellants' suit, we would affirm the court's ruling because both of their CEQA claims lack merit. As to their first cause of action, CEQA does not require the college to complete an EIR before…